Technology giant Apple has delivered yet another stellar quarter by comprehensively beating profit expectations, thanks to a big surge in sales of iPhones and iPad.
During the third quarter Apple sold a record 9.25 million iPads, a rise of 183 per cent over the same period a year ago, and 20.3 million iPhones over the quarter, a rise of 140 per cent.
The biggest contributor to the iPhones growth were the emerging markets like China, Latin America and the Middle East – not traditionally Apple’s strongest regions.
Apple recorded revenues of $28.57 billion and a net quarterly profit of $7.31 billion, as compared to $15.7 billion and $3.25 billion respectively in the previous year.
The Cupertino, California-based company said many customers decided to buy the latest version of iPad instead of a Windows PC.
The only laggard among the Apple products was the iPod, which fell in popularity, with 20 per cent fewer units sold.
The record iPhones sales placed Apple ahead of Nokia and Samsung to become the world's biggest smartphone maker.
Apple said it would pay more attention to markets like China where it had reported a 600 per cent increase in revenues on quarter-to-quarter basis.
Apple's U.S. online store currently shows a 1-3 day delay between ordering an iPad 2 and the tablet being shipped. It was between two and three weeks in April.
